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Daily podcast – October 30, 2013

30th October 2013

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October 30, 2013.
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Carina Borralho.
Making headlines:

South Africa signs an agreement with the DRC on the Grand Inga power import deal.

The UN says the Central African Republic is chaotic and that half the population needs help.

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And, a senior Egyptian minister says Egypt's government and the Muslim Brotherhood should pursue reconciliation.

 

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South Africa on Tuesday signed an agreement to buy over half of the power generated by the first phase of the Grand Inga hydroelectric project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Energy ministers from the two countries signed the purchase deal in Kinshasa during a visit by South African President Jacob Zuma to the DRC.

As part of the agreement, South Africa will purchase 2 500 MW out of a total 4 800 MW projected for the first phase of the project, Inga project coordinator Max Munga said at an energy conference earlier this month.

Construction for the first phase is set to begin in October 2015 and could take five to six years, he added. The entire project is projected to eventually produce 44 000 MW, dwarfing China's Three Gorges Dam.
 

 

The UN Security Council gave the go-ahead on Tuesday for troops to be sent to Central African Republic to protect a UN political mission in the virtually lawless country where a senior aid official said half the population needs help.

The landlocked, mineral-rich nation of 4.6-million people has slipped into chaos since northern Seleka rebels seized the capital, Bangui, and ousted President Francois Bozize in March. UN officials and rights groups say both sides may have committed war crimes.

Director of operations for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, John Ging, said this has long been a forgotten crisis. However, now the breakdown in law and order, the takeover by the armed groups has meant that the situation in the country is quite chaotic.

Ging, who recently spent three days in Central African Republic, said armed groups are inciting Christian and Muslim communities against each other and instilling widespread fear. He said crimes have included mutilation, rape and torture.



A senior minister has called for Egypt's army-backed government and the Muslim Brotherhood to seek reconciliation because only an inclusive political process, not security crackdowns, could bring stability to the country.

The most populous Arab state has been shaken by violence since the army toppled President Mohamed Mursi of the Brotherhood in July and announced a plan for new elections.

Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Bahaa El-Din has been trying to encourage both sides to compromise since he put an initiative to the cabinet in August.

Security forces have killed hundreds of Brotherhood members and jailed thousands, including Mursi, who is due to appear in court on Monday on charges of inciting violence.

 

Also making headlines:
 

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa holds back from deliberating on smelter contracts at its October 29 meeting.

Abyei and Sudanese officials have welcomed a push by the African Union to involve the UN Security Council in helping plan a referendum to resolve a dispute in the remote border region.

And, Blade runner Oscar Pistorius is expected to face additional gun charges in murder trial.
 

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.
 

 

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